A Lincoln native and former Illinois Wesleyan basketball and baseball player, Jones was among seven people who died early Tuesday in a plane crash east of Bloomington.
Jones was a point guard on highly successful basketball teams at Lincoln High School, graduating in 1987, and at IWU, where he was a senior co-captain on a 1991 conference championship team.
Jack Secord first encountered him as a player at IWU, calling Jones “a feisty scrapper” who “made things happen.”
“He brought a positive attitude and disposition to business,” Secord said. “This has been one of the very worst days of my life. It leaves a permanent hole in my heart. My heart breaks for his family.”